By guest author Patricia Dotten

I don’t know about you, but I didn’t homeschool so that my kids could get into an Ivy League school. I didn’t homeschool so they’d be super geeks and land a 1500 on the SAT. I didn’t homeschool so my friends and family would be impressed or so my kids would excel at music, sports, math, or speech and debate. And I didn’t homeschool so I could parade my kids around as perfectly obedient miniature versions of ME. 

Well, okay, to be honest, some of these ambitions were rattling around in my head early on in my homeschool journey. But then I had the privilege of hearing Tedd Tripp speak at a conference. I was intrigued by this man’s love for Jesus. He spoke about wanting his kids to be dazzled by the Lord Jesus. There are so many things in this world to tempt and attract our children. How many of our children are smitten with God? How many of the young people around us are lured, seduced, and ensnared by the bright lights and tempting glitter of “Vanity Fair?” Admittedly, the world does have something to offer but it is not lasting, it always disappoints, and eventually it destroys.

After hearing Mr. Tripp, I walked away with a clear biblical goal in mind for my parenting and for my homeschooling: I wanted my kids to be dazzled by Jesus! Now, after 25 years of raising my kids, I can tell you most definitely that I did not do it perfectly. In fact, I have had many regrets and failures. But God who is abounding in mercy met my husband and I in our weakness, and by His grace, all of our children, now adults, love the Lord.

I did not homeschool perfectly, but what I did have was a goal. Without a goal we’ll never achieve anything, and without a biblical goal we cannot fulfill the purpose that God has for our homeschooling. 

The word dazzle means to impress deeply, overpower, or confound with brilliance.

How can I hold before my children the dazzling beauty of Christ in my homeschool in such a way that He is irresistible to them? This is too broad a topic to fully unpack in this brief post, but here are a few tidbits to leave you with:

1. Make sure I myself have a vital relationship with the Lord Jesus. Do I really know Him personally? Have I surrendered my life to Him or am I just living out an empty, external religion?
2. Ask myself the hard questions: Honestly, why am I homeschooling? Is it to impress others? Is it so my children will be successful in their future careers? Is it because I am gripped by fear at what will happen if I don’t shelter them? 
3. Maybe I know Christ, but am I dazzled by Him myself? Have I lost my first love? God is the great Restorer. I need only to come to Him when my love is fading, and He will restore my soul. (Psalm 23:3)
4. Do I meditate on God and His glory and majesty and beauty and magnificence? He is so spectacular! One thing I ask of the Lord, this is what I seek…to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to seek Him in His temple. Psalm 27:4
5. What do I get excited about? How much time do I spend talking to my children about how impressed I am with the latest sports team or music group or movie or book? Am I more excited about classical literature or Latin, STEM studies, or their basketball league stats than I am about the Word of God?
6. Am I giving my children a keepable standard that will produce pride and self-righteousness in them? Or am I holding before them the impossible standard that God gave us in the Ten Commandments and that Jesus gave us in the Beatitudes so that my children will come to understand their desperate need for a Savior?
7. Am I exasperated when my kids disobey or do I see it as another divine opportunity? Am I using times of correction and discipline to gently, patiently, and lovingly explain the Gospel (yes, for the 500th time!) and help my children cry out to and run toward Jesus.
8. Is my home and speech saturated with the Word of God? Am I marinating my kids’ hearts in the Word of God? Speak to one another with Psalms, Hymns, and Spiritual songs, singing and making music in your hearts to the Lord. Ephesians 5:19
9. Do my children see me choosing to spend the precious free time God has given me on social media? Our children know what we love! I must take time to nurture my intimacy with Christ, and if I do, it will grow into a rich and vibrant affection that transforms my countenance and draws my children in.

“As a parent, our objective is…to demonstrate the freshness and vitality of life lived in integrity before God.”¹ As we walk this exciting and often challenging journey of homeschooling, we can rest in the fact that the “Gospel [itself] is powerful and attractive.”² We need only to live it out, lay it before our children daily and trust that God will do the good work that He has promised. I pray that we as homeschoolers can raise up a generation that is dazzled by God!

¹ Tripp, Tedd, Shepherding a Child’s Heart. Shepherd Press, 1995, pg. xix
² Ibid.

About the Author: Patricia Dotten

Patricia Dotten graduated from being a homeschool mom in 2022 after 25 years of teaching her 4 children. She enjoyed every moment of doing life full-time with her children. Her son and oldest daughter graduated from college and are now married, and she is excited about her first grandchild that came early this year. She resides with her husband and 2 youngest daughters in the Southeast where her daughters attend a small Bible college. Patricia’s favorite thing to do is encourage homeschool moms. If you have any questions or comments, she would love to hear from you at homeschoollifetogether@gmail.com.